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United States Patent |
5,203,378
|
Williams
|
April 20, 1993
|
High-flexibility, noncollapsing lightweight hose
Abstract
A high-flexibility, noncollapsing, lightweight, large-bore, wire-reinforced
hose is inside fiber-reinforced PVC tubing that is flexible, lightweight,
and abrasion resistant. It provides a strong, kink- and collapse-free
conduit for moving large quantities of dangerous fluids, e.g., removing
radioactive waste water or processing chemicals.
Inventors:
|
Williams; David A. (Pittsburgh, PA)
|
Assignee:
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United States Department of Energy (Washington, DC)
|
Appl. No.:
|
648931 |
Filed:
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February 1, 1991 |
Current U.S. Class: |
138/109; 138/104; 138/110; 138/113; 285/123.17 |
Intern'l Class: |
F16L 055/00 |
Field of Search: |
138/110,104,109,121,122,113,111,114,118
285/133.1
128/911
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
4274549 | Jun., 1981 | Germain | 138/113.
|
4507916 | Feb., 1986 | Antal et al. | 138/104.
|
4718568 | Jan., 1988 | Palu | 138/113.
|
4922971 | May., 1990 | Grantham | 138/109.
|
5005613 | Apr., 1991 | Stanley | 138/113.
|
Primary Examiner: Byant, III; James E.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Moser; William R., Hightower; Judson R., Constant; Richard E.
Goverment Interests
This invention was conceived and made in the course of or under Contract
No. DE-AC 11-76 PN00014 with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Claims
I claim:
1. A large, lightweight, non-collapsing fluid-conducting hose comprising:
an outer highly flexible and collapsible tubular member;
an inner flexible, lightweight, and non-collapsing tubular member disposed
within said outer tubular member so that the combination forms a flexible
non-collapsing hose wherein said inner and outer tubular members are in
radially spaced relationship to provide an annular space between said
inner and outer tubular members;
vent means for communicating said annular space with the inside of said
inner tubular member to maintain substantially equal pressure on the inner
and outer surfaces of said inner tubular member;
at least one end fitting; and
a coupling means for connecting said end fitting to the ends of said inner
and outer tubular members substantially concentrically in a sealing
relationship, and for connecting said hose to a fluid-handling system;
wherein said coupling means comprises:
a tubular spacer inserted into the end of said outer tubular member;
an outer coupling sleeve inserted partially into said tubular spacer and
partially into said end fitting, sealed with said end fitting and said
tubular spacer;
at least one hose clamp around the outer surface of said outer tubular
member for clamping said end of said outer tubular member in sealing
engagement with said tubular spacer and said outer coupling sleeve;
an inner coupling sleeve inserted partially into said outer coupling sleeve
and partially into said inner tubular member and having a middle part
exposed to said annular space; and
at least one hose clamp around said inner tubular member for clamping said
inner tubular member in sealing engagement with said inner coupling
sleeve.
2. The hose claimed in claim 5 wherein:
said outer tubular member comprises fiber reinforced PVC tubing; and
said inner tubular member comprises wire reinforced PVC tubing.
3. The hose as claimed in claim 1 wherein said vent means comprises:
a hole through said middle part of said inner coupling sleeve.
4. The hose as claimed in claim 2 wherein said vent means comprises:
a hole through said middle part of said inner coupling sleeve.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a high-flexibility, lightweight,
noncollapsing hose and more particularly to such a hose having a large
size and particularly useful as equipment for draining a radioactively
contaminated fluid through a noncontaminated, isolated and restricted
space with high confidence against kinking, collapse, or leaking even with
large relative motion between the inlet and outlet ends of the hose.
In the operation of nuclear facilities, such as nuclear reactors,
processing plants for nuclear fuels and related materials, and chemical
processing plants, for example, it is necessary to handle radioactively
and/or chemically contaminated fluids which in many instances must be
conducted, such as for draining purposes, through a noncontaminated,
isolated and restricted space without contamination of the surrounding
area. Conduction of such contaminated fluids through uncontaminated
environments in practice requires the highest confidence that the hose
will not kink, collapse, break, or leak even though the hose may be
subject to a large amount of motion relative to the inlet and outlet ends
of the hose. Any such breaking, or leaking would result in undesirable
contamination of the area through which the hose passes which could result
in major damage and/or in the requirement to shut down the operation for
cleanup and decontamination processing of the area.
Additional problems are also encountered in processing plants for
contaminated materials due to the fact that hoses conducting the
contaminated liquids or gases pass through inaccessible, restricted spaces
requiring extreme flexibility in the hose, but with the assurance that the
hose will neither kink nor collapse to close off the flow.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a high-flexibility,
noncollapsing hose which overcomes the above problems and assures safe
conduction of contaminated fluids through noncontaminated areas.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a high-flexibility,
noncollapsing hose for conducting radioactively contaminated water through
noncontaminated water in the restricted space between a nuclear fuel
shipping container, or an irradiated equipment disposal container, and the
anticontamination enclosure therefor. Such operations are usually
conducted under water and the hose inside the anticontamination enclosure
is not accessible for correction of kinks or collapsed sections.
The instant invention achieves these objectives by providing a
high-flexibility, noncollapsing hose comprising lightweight
wire-reinforced ducting which will not collapse or kink and may be easily
damaged by abrasion, inside a fiber-reinforced PVC tubing which is
extremely flexible, lightweight and abrasion resistant and has pressure
ratings sufficient to be utilized for the purposes intended. The inner
ducting may have an insufficient pressure rating and may be easily damaged
by abrasion. Therefore the unique combination of the outer PVC tubing
which is extremely flexible, lightweight, abrasion resistant and has
sufficient pressure ratings provides a solution to the difficult
requirement for a strong, lightweight, highly flexible kink and collapse
free hose. The invention further provides pressure-equalizing holes,
preferably in novel end connections, which prevents rupture of the inner
duct and allows the hose assembly to drain when removed from the water.
In a practical application of the invention in a nuclear fuel shipping
container, the hose is inside the anticontamination enclosure and is not
accessible for relief of kinks or collapsed sections. In addition,
anticontamination enclosures are usually opaque thereby making it
extremely difficult to locate collapsed or kinked sections. The
flexibility of the instant invention facilitates removal of the
anticontamination enclosure as the container is lifted from the water
while the contaminated water is being drained from the container through
the high-flexibility hose. If the contaminated water cannot drain due to a
collapsed drain hose, the container could not be lifted from the water
because of limited capacity of the crane.
The invention is in no sense limited to use with radioactive fluids and
materials, but is also useful in chemical processing or any other
operation where it is desired or necessary to provide a kink free,
noncollapsing, lightweight hose of relatively large size.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described in detail with reference to the
accompany drawings wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic elevational view of the hose installed in a drain
line assembly and showing end fittings in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the hose in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along line 3--3 of FIG. 1 showing a
typical detail of an end connection for the hose in accordance with the
invention; and
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the hose of the invention twisted in
the form of a knot.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the hose of this invention has an outer
fiber-reinforced polyvinylchloride (PVC) tubular member 1 of
fiber-reinforced PVC tubing which is extremely flexible, lightweight and
abrasion resistant, and an inner tubular duct having high-flexibility,
noncollapsing, and light weight characteristics. An annular space 3 is
provided between the two tubular members throughout the length of the
hose. A wire-reinforced tubing 2 may be of a type available in the
commercial market such as PVC flexible duct which will not collapse or
kink, but does not have adequate pressure capability or abrasion
resistance to ensure that the hose would not leak if used alone under the
adverse environmental conditions for which the hose is intended to be
used, and has a pressure rating in the range of approximately 1 to 10% of
the system pressure. The outer PVC tubing is fiber-reinforced to withstand
100% of the system pressure and is highly flexible, but would readily
collapse and kink if used alone for the intended purpose of this
invention. This outer tubing 1 may be of the type available on the
commercial market.
A lightweight hose is required for the intended use, for example because
the anticontamination enclosure through which the hose passes is made from
a relatively fragile membrane material (not shown) which must also support
the weight of the hose. In 3 in. diameter and larger sizes commercially
available flexible hoses are relatively stiff and heavy, so that such
hoses are unsuitable for the intended application of this invention.
FIG. 3 shows in cross section a detail of typical end fittings for use with
a multi-tube hose in accordance with the invention. The inner coupling
sleeve 4 is a tubular member which may be made of PVC material and has an
inner end section having an outer diameter which is preferable slightly
less than the inner diameter of inner tubular member 2 and preferably has
a central reduced diameter section 6 for insertion into the end of the
inner tubular member. Hose clamps 7, of a type which would be well known
to one having ordinary skill in this art, are provided, around the end of
inner tubular member 2 into which inner coupling sleeve 4 is inserted for
tightening and sealing the end of the inner tubular member to the outer
surface of the inner coupling sleeve as shown. The outer end section 8 of
inner coupling sleeve 4 is insertable into end section 9 of outer coupling
sleeve 10, which may be a separate part in sealed engagement with, or an
integral part of, an end fitting 11, such as a tubular hose connector or
pipe elbow, for example. Coupling outer sleeve 10 and end fitting 11 may
also be of PVC material. Tubular spacer 12 is fitted over the outer end
portion of outer coupling sleeve 10 and the outer end of outer tubular
member 1 is fitted over the outer surface of spacer 12. Hose clamps 13 are
provided around the end of the outer tubular member 1 surrounding the
spacer 12 which in turn surrounds the end section 9 of outer coupling
sleeve 1. Hose clamps 13 are tightened in use to seal the assembly
comprised of the end of, outer tubular member 1 and members 4, 10 and 12
so that there is no leakage of fluid from inside the hose end connection
to the ambient environment. Member 12 may also be of PVC material.
In use the other end of the hose preferably has the same end fittings, or
connector assembly, as described above and shown in FIG. 3.
Vent holes 14 are provided, preferably, but not necessarily, through
coupling sleeve 4, interconnect the interior of tubular member 2 to the
space 3 between the two tubular members 1 and 2, which function as
pressure-equalizing holes which prevent rupture of the inner tubular under
working pressure and allow the hose assembly to drain when desired.
In this manner the higher pressure resistant outer tubular member 1
sustains the pressure under operating conditions and the lower pressure
rating of the inner tubular member 2 is no longer a limiting factor in the
use of the hose.
In a practical application of the invention, the hose is connected at one
end as shown in FIG. 1 to an elbow 11 which is connected to a drain pipe
15 from a nuclear fuel shipping container (not shown), for example,
through which the contaminated fluid is drained. The other end of the hose
is connected to a further elbow 11 to which a drain connection 16 is
fitted.
In a typical application the inner tubular member 2 may be a 3 in. I.D.
spiral wire reinforced PVC flexible duct and the outer tubular member may
be a 4 in. I.D. Lay-flat fiber reinforced PVC tubing so that the annular
space 3 therebetween is approximately 1/2 in. in radial thickness. The
fiber-reinforced PVC outer tubular member has a pressure rating in excess
of 40 psi.
It has been found that the hose of the invention, as described above, may
be twisted as shown in FIG. 4 without collapsing or kinking, and is still
capable of retaining its original integrity thus assuring that the flow
through the hose will not be cut off even when severely twisted as shown
in FIG. 4 and will not collapse, break, or leak, thus making the invention
suitable for conducting contaminated fluids through noncontaminated or
environmentally pure areas.
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